Originally published: Sight Magazine, 15 December 2021
More than 40 per cent of Australian families are suffering financial stress and emotional pressure this Christmas, according to the Salvation Army.
And 83 per cent of families seeking assistance from the Christian organisation say they cannot afford Christmas presents for their children, survey results across NSW and the rest of Australia show.
Major David Collinson, the Salvos’ NSW public relations secretary, says families are struggling after losing their jobs through the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and being cut off from Federal Government assistance, but they still have to meet the rising costs of living.
The survey results of 1,164 people who accessed its ‘Doorways’ program, as well as 2000 people surveyed by market research company Pureprofile, have been released as the organisation launches its annual Salvation Army Christmas Appeal, hoping to raise $A20 million to help the needy and vulnerable.
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